Published: Oct. 15, 2015

The U.S. EPA is seeking a Research Participant with a M.S. degree for an opportunity in Chemical Process Inventory Modeling for Life Cycle Assessment Application.  The program is run through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) and offers a stipend up to $60,814 per year.  The appointment will be served in Cincinnati, OH. 

The project will develop accurate descriptions of chemical process models, which in collaboration with other ORD research will lead to the development and application of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) chemical inventory database and associated tools.

The project involves the classification and reconciliation of process mass and energy flows to describe manufacturing processes for LCA chemical inventory purposes. Classification refers to the categorization of similar chemical manufacturing process data to most accurately substitute for processes when specific data is not available (e.g., alcohol category data for isobutanol). 

Reconciliation refers to a methodology for improving data gaps or poor data by using various principles, including mass and energy balances, process and unit operation knowledge and models, and mathematical approaches, applied to inventory data developed via data mining and process-oriented approaches.